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Friday February 17, 2023

Editor’s Note — TRO wants to remind its Travelgram readers the articles presented here are meant to assist you in remaining informed and prepared to discuss travel news of the day with clients.


Destinations

Travel Demand For Brazil Is Skyrocketing - Here's Why Americans Love It
Brazil may be the largest country by territorial extension in South America, home to a plethora of natural landmarks that need to be seen to be believed, and a vibrant multicultural scene. Despite its huge size and potential, it is not the most sought-after destination in the continent…

Surf, Sand & Sun: The Ultimate Travel Guide To Santa Cruz & Things To Do
Santa Cruz, located on the northern edge of Monterey Bay in California, is a seaside city known for great surfing, the iconic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and a beautiful downtown packed with great shops, restaurants, and bars. While tourists flock to the city to ride the…

The Best Time To Visit Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik has withstood earthquakes and sieges. Its marble flagstones and rugged walls give this lovely city – Croatia’s most popular – a timeless feel. But the seasons vary hugely in Dubrovnik. Choosing the best time to visit depends on your attitude to the weather and the…

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Tours and Activities

Heading To Super Nintendo World? Tips For Your First Universal Studios Hollywood Visit
Super Nintendo World is sure to draw a whole new legion of fans to Universal Studios Hollywood, just like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter did years ago. Planners like me will already have lists of things they want to see and do, but what about things to avoid?…

Everything You Need To Know About Daytona Beach’s Bike Week (2023)
Anybody who loves motorcycles, Daytona Beach, Florida, or both know Daytona Bike Week is right around the corner. If you aren’t familiar with the event, hundreds of thousands of bikers travel to Daytona Beach every March for the 10-day Daytona Bike Week, which is presented…

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Cruise

Citing Resurging Group Demand, AmaWaterways Extends Bonus Commissions
Looking to its profitable and resurgent group business, AmaWaterways on Tuesday announced an extension of its bonus commission program and its online AmaAcademy for travel advisors selling groups. SVP Sales Alex Pinelo told TRO, “During the Covid period, there was a lot of…

This City in California Is Essentially Banning Cruise Ships — Here's How
The city of Monterey in California has effectively banned cruise ships after voting to terminate city services for them. The city, which sits along the coast about two hours south of San Francisco, voted to stop offering city services to cruise ships coming into its termina…

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Transportation

JFK Airport Power Outage Disrupting Flights
A terminal at JFK International Airport in New York City has suffered an electrical power outage, affecting both inbound and outbound flights. JFK Terminal 1 will remain closed on 2/17 due to electrical issues as the Port Authority continues working with the terminal’s…

Germany: Flights Cancelled As Strikes Wipe Out Air Travel
Seven major German airports have been brought to a standstill after hundreds of ground crew walked out on strike in a row over pay. Aircraft are grounded at Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover and Dortmund. More than 2,300 flights have been cancelled…

Air Canada To Return To 2019 Capacity Next Year But Faces Cost Pressures
Air Canada (AC.TO) said on Friday it would return to 2019 capacity levels next year on strong travel demand, after reporting a larger-than-expected quarterly loss per share. The carrier's shares plunged more than 10% in morning trade. North American carriers are adding seats to…

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Lodging

Hotel or Tent? Which Travel Accommodation Suits You Best?
Have you had the chance to work any travel into your schedule yet for this year? If you know where you’re going, have you figured out where you are going to stay? There are so many travel accommodations to choose from depending on your budget and where in the world…

Stay Here Next: Botánika Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica
The Botánika Osa Peninsula is a nature-filled addition to Hilton’s Curio Collection in one of the most biodiverse corners of Costa Rica: the Osa Peninsula. The resort embraces its rain forest location with landscaping that incorporates local plants in abundance and a design that…

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Other and Odd

'Being A Wheelchair User Won't Stop Me From Traveling The World'
Born with an undiagnosed medical condition, Renee Bruns, who has been using a wheelchair since she was seven, developed a love for travel after spending much of her younger years going from state to state to see medical specialists around the US with her mother. By the…

Do I Need Travel Insurance For A Trip To Europe?
With warmer months ahead and vacation season fast approaching, now is the time to nail down your vacation plans. It appears travel is already making a comeback, with spending totaling $92 billion in December — 3% above 2019 levels, according to U.S. Travel…

Today in History

Geronimo Dies
In 1829, a Native American boy named Goyathlay was born to the Apache tribe in what was then Mexican territory, but would later be Arizona. He married and had three children. In 1851, a group of Mexican…

Press Releases of Interest

Collette’s ‘Spotlight On Tuscany’ Tour Shines Bright
Pawtucket, RI (February 16, 2023) – Collette’s “Spotlight on Tuscany” tour has been a hit with travelers. Of over 460 travelers who embarked on the 7-day journey, 84% rated it as “excellent,” which is the highest…

Deck Plans

Three (Or Four) In A Cabin: Will It Float?

For decades, river cruising has largely been a pursuit for couples; families and solo cruisers need not apply. But that old way of thinking is quickly going out the door, as river cruise lines move to court multi-generational families and solo cruisers eager to try their hand at the rivers of Europe.

  — Travel Research Online
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Soundings

Citing Resurging Group Demand, AmaWaterways Extends Bonus Commissions
by Cheryl Rosen
Thursday February 16, 2023

Looking to its profitable and resurgent group business, AmaWaterways on Tuesday announced an extension of its bonus commission program and its online AmaAcademy for travel advisors selling groups.

SVP Sales Alex Pinelo told TRO, “During the Covid period, there was a lot of uncertainty about when travel would resume and what restrictions might apply when it did. Travel advisors had a difficult time promoting new groups because of that uncertainty. With all that behind us now, we are very happy to see the strong return of new group requests coming into our Group Department. There are many smaller groups still wanting to travel within 2023 but most larger group requests are for 2024 and there…

  — Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »

The Rosen Report

Chat GPT Told Me to Call This Column "ChatGPT: The Ultimate Assistant for Travel Agents"
by Cheryl Rosen
Friday February 17, 2023

In a previous life, when Sue Peyer was director of quality for Cox Communications, part of her job was to monitor customer service calls. The company used Israeli software that turned the dialogue into text, so she could read the transcribed conversations in a Word document.

  — Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »


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